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Legal Writing: A Judge's Perspective on the Science and Rhetoric of the Written Word
"Effective legal writing calls not only for artistry but also for scientific understanding. Legal wordsmiths turned words and phrases into finely tuned aphorisms, just as van Gogh and Matisse turned blank canvases into brilliant combinations of color and light. Unlike most forms of art, however, effective legal writing serves primarily to explain and persuade. You cannot easily explain or persuade without considering how your intended audience will process your words. Thinking about the intended reader is natural. Is your brief going to a court overwhelmed by filings? Is the assigned judge likely to read the brief once or to reread it many times? Are opinions by the assigned judge long or short?"--
- GenresLaw
168 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2020
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May 14, 2023
Judge Bacharach’s book is an accessible style guide for any writer or student. I ordered it after hearing the judge’s interview on the “how I lawyer podcast” and finally got around to reading it after a student commented the book improved their moot court writing.
The book is short and has a conversational style, which makes it easier to read than Garner’s Redbook or classic style manuals. Most of the language and psychology research is summarized quickly in the text and footnoted for reference. I will probably use it as a textbook in future upper-level writing classes and recommended it for students.
The book is a general style manual that provides a legal focus in two ways: (1) it draws many examples from famous opinions and well-known litigators’ briefs and (2) gives several lists of word choices that lawyers are more likely to need. A lot of the advice matches Orwell’s guidance in his essay, Politics and the English Language (which I assign in my clinic manual and this book might replace).
Bacharach devotes most of his pages to sentence structure and diction. I particularly appreciated his plea to reject legalese. I’ve been a strong proponent that every “herein” or “wheretofore” I see should be struck, and now feel more confident in my viewpoint. Bacharach also suggests personalizing parties in pleadings so it’s easier for judges to remember rather than repeating “defendant” or “plaintiff.”
I still see most students and lawyers make the mistakes that Bacharach says to avoid, almost every day. If this book were read by more 1Ls, it would probably improve legal writing on a systemic level.
Anyone from high school students to most judges would benefit from reading this book, but every 1L should read it if they want to write better exams and avoid the common mistakes that plague most briefs and papers. The book is expensive at around $80, but should be in every school’s law library and it’s now in mine.
The book is short and has a conversational style, which makes it easier to read than Garner’s Redbook or classic style manuals. Most of the language and psychology research is summarized quickly in the text and footnoted for reference. I will probably use it as a textbook in future upper-level writing classes and recommended it for students.
The book is a general style manual that provides a legal focus in two ways: (1) it draws many examples from famous opinions and well-known litigators’ briefs and (2) gives several lists of word choices that lawyers are more likely to need. A lot of the advice matches Orwell’s guidance in his essay, Politics and the English Language (which I assign in my clinic manual and this book might replace).
Bacharach devotes most of his pages to sentence structure and diction. I particularly appreciated his plea to reject legalese. I’ve been a strong proponent that every “herein” or “wheretofore” I see should be struck, and now feel more confident in my viewpoint. Bacharach also suggests personalizing parties in pleadings so it’s easier for judges to remember rather than repeating “defendant” or “plaintiff.”
I still see most students and lawyers make the mistakes that Bacharach says to avoid, almost every day. If this book were read by more 1Ls, it would probably improve legal writing on a systemic level.
Anyone from high school students to most judges would benefit from reading this book, but every 1L should read it if they want to write better exams and avoid the common mistakes that plague most briefs and papers. The book is expensive at around $80, but should be in every school’s law library and it’s now in mine.
Displaying 1 of 1 review